LOCATION of guests is hidden to hosts

[Nick539]

In an attempt to prevent any biased decisions of hosts in whether to accept or decline guests depending on the country they come from, Airbnb no longer show the location of new users (after Airbnb decided a while ago to not show photos of guests prior to confirmation of booking)

I personally feel that this is not a smart decision towards the HOSTS (the REAL asset of airbnb).  I have been for the last 5 years a host and had over thousand people in my house, I NEVER declined any request just because someone comes from X, Y or Z country.  However having the full transparency of information is essential to me and provide me with the feeling of  security when a stranger is coming to my house and live with me for a while.

Hosts will now have to send seperate message to guests asking them politerly where they are from and this might cause even more sense of discrimination. 

This policy affects especially hosts who live in the same place together with the guests because its all about communication and feeling comfortable with each other. Although I never declined a single reservation for the last years based on location only, and after years of hosting so many guests I think I had guests from every possible country.  Since I live together in the same apartment with my guests it is important for me to make a smarter decision based on the origin country. With some people you have more chemistery and with some people less. It makes BOTH sides and the matching better. There is better energy, better communicaiton, better feeling.   

There are other ways to help to ''sense'' what a perosn  (who is going to live with you for a while) might be like : the kind of message he / she are sending and the reviews they might have. But now when not showing the location and the photos (YES photos are super important,  a person who is smiling in a photo earned my trust immediateyl and Airbnb took it away from him/her by not showing the photo) airbnb is not really improving the anti discrimination spirit that is prevailing in the US and Western Europe.   

I think that by interferring with these new policies we don't really promote anti-discriminatiob but we put hosts and guests both in uncomfortable situation.  

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Nick539Although you or I never declined anyone based on his nationality it doesn't mean such hosts don't exist.

But...

if someone doesn't want to host me because I am from XX country or my skin has the "wrong" color then I would prefer to be declined BEFORE booking and not when I arrive at his home.

[Susan151]

@Nick539 I know, via online forums, a lot of hosts that state, IN PUBLIC, that they will not accept guests from certain countries. I can only imagine that AirBNB has also read these public posts and has chosen to take steps to make this more difficult for hosts to implement.

I do not consider this a hardship since, like you, I take anyone who meets my rather minimal requirements.

[Nick539]

If someone indicates it publicly I think his / her account should be removed. At the end a host can write a message and ask for the location , it just might leave bad impression. It’s not only about discrimination but a matter of preferences . I really really like my American guests and If I get two reservations for the same dates, one reservation from US  and the other from X  country I would rather take Americans because they are mostly easy going and fun to be around , it doesn’t mean that I discriminate the other country as being not a good fit but since I live in the apartment I much rather have people I feel most comfortable with. This is my private house after all and if I feel comfortable with the people , they feel comfortable too, it’s energy and vibes that are in the air. There are enough hosts and guests out there and they will eventually find their right match among each other 

[Nick539]

That’s an important point , “forcing” matches between hosts and guests (by not showing certain information)  might lead to situations of feeling uncomfortable for both sides and I feel that leaving the hosts and guests to make their own decision based on revealed information will work best for both of them at the end rather than interfering and designing a system that lack some information in order to fight discrimination.  When it comes to humans they have their own preferences whether we like or not and when it comes to their own private house they are entitiled to make their decision accordingly and I can’t expect them to blindly take any reservation when they live together in the same house. With not exposing  a location I think airbnb went too far trying to do something that has good intentions but affects negatively the whole process design 

[Susan151]

@Nick539 @Branka-and-Silvia0 Then those hosts should leave AirBNB and use a different service for renting their spaces. "Blindly" accepting is how AirBNB currently works, and I expect this trend to continue. By forcing hosts to call AirBNB and use the "not comfortable" code, the number of hosts that wish to discriminate will be reduced.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Nick539 

If Airbnb really wants to fight discrimination then it would be fair to hide host's pictures as well.  Who knows how many guests didn't choose my listing because I am middle aged white female and booked with my colored skin male young neighbour instead? I feel discriminated :))))

[Kathy1211]

Exactly!  I seem to get a lot of single males rooming with me, but have been lucky so far. 

Lately I am concerned about the fact of not showing the guest location.  Especially when they speak Spanish.  I love Hispanic people and being a Floridian am certainly accustomed to their culture and that portion of our population.  BUT when a host gets a last minute request from a newly joined member with no pic, no location, no reviews,  because of the onslaught of migrants at our border, I often wonder if the drug ccartels are creating fake "guest profiles" using Airbnb hosts as one way to traffic illegals here.

   I agree with other hosts that basically the price of antidiscriminatory practices can jeapordize the freedom to keep ourselves safe.  Sharing our homes is a very personal matter we should be able to make the ultimate decision on.

[Nick539]

That’s a good point, they created asymmetrical information and for that reason I sense that it’s their way to push more reservations into completed booking and create booking without real thought behind it , but it is certainly good for airbnb as it creates more sales . I hope they will get some more feedback from others and see if this was a smart decision. As a host who never declined any of the  hundreds requests I had based on country I can tell that this missing information still bothers me as it doesn’t allow me fully freedom and transparency as regard to with whom I’m going to live for a while 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Nick539 

your post is not the first one about this topic. Many of them are posted when Airbnb made this change a while ago and some posts have dozens of comments . Browse through this CC and you will find them.

[Cormac0]

@Nick539 

If Governments expect guests to present a passport before they enter the country and visas depending of your country of origin, why is it discriminatory for host not to be allowed the same facility.

The whole system has gone off the rails, in some countries its mandatory for Host to record their guest’s passport details and credentials.

In fact, I would go so far as to say it might be facilitating international terrorism where people illegally enter a country and can get accommodation with complete anonymity.

Yet again Airbnb in my opinion have not thought this whole debacle!

[Nick539]

Good point, I will add it to my personal feedback to airbnb. There is a page wheee you can send them feedback (no need to call) I believe that if enough hosts tackle this issue they might understand how hosts are being hurt by that decision . I’m not sure if airbnb reads whatever is written in the community .